Patrick Fairbairn
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Patrick Fairbairn (28 January 1805 – 6 August 1874) was a Scottish
Free Church A free church is any Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church neither defines government policy, nor accept church theology or policy definitions from the government. A f ...
minister and theologian. He was
Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...
1864/65.


Early life and career

He was born in Halyburton,
Greenlaw Greenlaw is a town and civil parish situated in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills on Blackadder Water at the junction of the A697 and the A6105 in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of ...
,
Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...
, on 28 January 1805. Patrick was the second son of John Fairbairn, farmer, and Jessie Johnston, Middlestots. He was educated at Greenlaw School and studied at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
at the age of 13. He graduated in 1826 and was licensed to preach by Presbytery of Duns on 3 October 1826. He began employment as a tutor in the family of Captain Balfour of Balfour and was ordained to Ringansay in
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
on 28 July 1830 and remained there for six years. He translated to the Extension Church at
Bridgeton, Glasgow Bridgeton (, ) is a district to the east of Glasgow city centre. Shires of Scotland, Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is bounded by Glasgow Green to the west, Dalmarnock to the east and south, Calton, Glasgow, Calton to the north-west at A ...
on 16 March 1837. Fairbairn translated, and admitted to Salton, East Lothian on 25 June 1840.


After the Disruption

After the
Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Sc ...
, Fairbairn joined the Free Church of Scotland. In 1852 he became assistant to Prof Maclagan at the Free Church Theological College in
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and in 1853, the
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
appointed him as successor to Maclagan as Professor of Theology. He then lived at 25 Bon Accord Terrace in Aberdeen. When the Free Church College was founded in Glasgow in 1856, Fairbairn became Professor of Church History and Exegesis, and was made Principal the following year. He held these positions until his death in 1874. He was elected
Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...
in 1864, succeeding Rev Roderick McLeod, and was succeeded in turn in 1865 by Rev James Begg. In 1845, Fairbairn published ''The Typology of Scripture''. MacLehose (1886) noted that this was "one of the most important theological works of its day," and suggested that it "appeared at a time when Scotland was singularly barren in theological scholarship, and gained for its author a great reputation, not only in his own country but also in England and America." Fairbairn's work on
typology A typology is a system of classification used to organize things according to similar or dissimilar characteristics. Groups of things within a typology are known as "types". Typologies are distinct from taxonomies in that they primarily address t ...
was followed by ''Prophecy viewed in its Distinctive Nature, its Special Functions, and Proper Interpretation'' (1856) and ''Hermeneutical Manual; or, Introduction to the exegetical study of the Scriptures of the New Testament'' (1858). He also wrote commentaries on
Ezekiel Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him. The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...
and the Pastoral epistles, and edited the ''Imperial Bible Dictionary''. Fairbairn was "large and imposing in appearance," but "modest and retiring in his habits and feelings." He was married three times, but little is known of his private life because Fairbairn "asked his friends not to allow his biography to be written, and destroyed letters and other documents which might have led them to a disregard of his wish." Walker (1964) suggested that Fairbairn's "zeal for ascertaining and propagating the truth of God ... continued steadfastly with all the vigour of his powerful intellect until the closing days of his life." He died at home, 13 Elmbank Crescent, in west Glasgow. He is buried against the north wall of the
Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...
in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
with his wives Mary Playfair (1808-1852) and Frances Eliza Turnbull (1828-1903). His Glasgow home was demolished in the late 20th century.


Works

*The Typology of Scripture, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1845–7, and various editions) *Jonah, his Life, Character, and Mission (1849) *Ezekiel and the Book of his Prophecy (Edinburgh, 1851) *Opinions of Reformers regarding the Sabbath (Edinburgh, 1852) *The Christian Ministry (Edinburgh, 1852) *Prophecy, its Nature, Function, and Interpretation (Edinburgh, 1856) *Hermeneutical Manual (Edinburgh, 1858) *The Revelation of Law in Scripture (Cunningham Lectures; Edinburgh, 1869) *The Pastoral Epistles of St Paul (Edinburgh, 1874) *Pastoral Theology (Edinburgh, 1875) which was published posthumously and contained a Memoir by James Dodds. *He edited The Imperial Bible Dictionary (London, 1864–6, 2 vols.), contributing many important articles, and for Clark's Biblical Cabinet and Foreign Theol. Library he translated in whole or in part several works from the German — Hengstenberg's Commentary on the Psalms and Commentary on the Revelation, etc.


Family

He married: *(1) 27 March 1833, Margaret (died 4 May 1837), daughter of Alexander Pitcairn, merchant, Edinburgh, and had issue — **John, born 22 January 1834, died in Australia 1874 **Alexander, born 7 October 1836, died 21 May 1837 **Margaret, born 27 April 1837, died 22 May 1837 *(2) 23 July 1839, Mary (died 9 December 1852), daughter of Patrick Playfair, merchant, Glasgow, and had issue — **Patrick, born 21 Sept. 1840, died at Demerara, 20 March 1910 **Jane Jessie, born 27 September 1842, died 28 September 1859 **Thomas Pitcairn, born 16 March 1848, died 3 November 1877 **Marian, born 9 December 1852 (married Alexander Guthrie, merchant, Liverpool, son of Thomas Guthrie) *(3) 21 September 1861, Frances Eliza Turnbull, Eyemouth, who died 25 Jan. 1903, aged 85. His nephews via his brother George, who became a wealthy grazier in Australia, included politician Sir George and prominent rowing coach
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.


References

;Citations ;Sources * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbairn, Patrick 1805 births 1874 deaths Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians 19th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Berwickshire Scottish religious writers Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries 19th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Scottish biblical scholars Fairbairn family